SYRACUSE, N.Y. - City officials today promised to get tougher with private snowplow drivers who flout Syracuse's rules against pushing snow out of driveways and parking lots and onto sidewalks, streets and other public areas.

That was the most specific goal discussed at a city council meeting on the problem of snow-blocked sidewalks, the overall solution to which continues to stump city leaders.

Cracking down on snowplow drivers will help, because some of them leave snow on sidewalks. But city leaders say they haven't solved the fundamental challenge: How can Syracuse clear 10 feet of snow, on average each winter, from 586 miles of city sidewalks?

"We're still going to talk about it and work on it,'' Councilor Helen Hudson, the majority leader, said after the meeting.

Councilor Bob Dougherty proposed an ordinance earlier this month to fine property owners who don't shovel their walks, but it was voted down Feb. 10. Two days after the vote, Dougherty pointed out today, a 77-year-old man was struck by a car and killed while walking in a North Side street.

Police did not attribute Daniel Hemingway's death to unshoveled sidewalks - they said at the time that he appeared to be walking in the street because he was pushing a big cart. But Dougherty said the tragedy illustrates the danger of pedestrians walking in the street, many of whom do so because the sidewalks are barricaded by snow.

"You can say it's a quality of life issue, but I'd put the emphasis on life,'' Dougherty said. "This is a safety issue."

Dougherty's failed proposal also would have increased penalties for snowplow drivers who left snow on sidewalks. Pete O'Connor, public works commissioner, said he will soon propose a new ordinance to address that issue.

A pickup truck with a plow travels down Court Street Jan. 2 in Syracuse. City officials say they plan to get tougher on private plow drivers who leave snow on sidewalks or other public areas.Dick Blume | dblume@syracuse.com

The city has a 40-year-old ordinance requiring private snowplow drivers to get a $20 license from the city, but the ordinance is out of date and much-ignored, O'Connor said. The ordinance also requires the drivers to keep a log of their jobs and to refrain from piling snow in public areas or on the property of adjacent owners.

O'Connor said he plans to propose an amendment to the council that would increase the license fee and give DPW officials authority to ticket violators. Police have the authority to issue tickets now, he said, but DPW drivers are more likely to catch violators in the act.

Dougherty said he would like to see the city school district and the parks and public works departments - each of which shovels some city sidewalks - map out priority sidewalks near schools and along heavily walked streets. That would make the most efficient use of city crews, who don't have the manpower to clear every publicly owned sidewalk promptly, Dougherty said.

As for sidewalks along private property, most of the discussion today centered on volunteer efforts. Cathy Roosa, volunteer coordinator for United Way of Central New York, said she is working with the organizers of Snow Crew, a volunteer shoveling initiative that started in Boston, to adapt the service to Syracuse.

Snow Crew runs a web site where volunteer shovelers are matched with nearby residents who need assistance.

Karaline Rothwell, of the West Side Residents Coalition, said her group already has a volunteer shoveling brigade. The coalition used a grant last year to buy 50 shovels so that volunteers can gather at 11 a.m. every Saturday at Brown Memorial Church to shovel sidewalks.

"This is a big issue on the West Side,'' she said. "In consideration of the low socioeconomic status of people on the West Side, many of them have to walk because they don't have vehicles.''